The Staves - The Motherlode EP Review

The Corrs sister they are not, but the sibling threesome that make up The Staves look to take the music world by storm with their own bewitchingly beautiful country/folk sound. The Watford-born sisters look to add to their already impressive r'sum' with the release of debut EP The Motherlode having already wowed audiences across the Atlantic and up and down the country alongside the likes of Mumford and Sons and Michael Kiwanuka and whilst spelling clearing isn't one of their strong points, crafting beautiful songs clearly is.

The title track consists of simple guitars and striking melodies, show us that these three can create something brilliant out of the simplest ingredients. Again on 'Pay Us No Mind' the trio use a very back-to-basics style, however they deliver it with such class it not only sounds appealing, but they also manage to make this sound seem like a total original musical venture. Laura Marling-who?

The last track of the EP, 'Wisely and Slow,' is as stripped back as the girls get on the album, almost entirely a cappella bar the quiet few organ cords that lay underneath the beautifully melodic harmonies of the sisters, that is until around the 3 minute mark when the drums and claps kick in to make the song without a doubt the finest example on the album.

Like Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and too an extent Noah and the Whale, British folk is undergoing a Renaissance and reinvention stage and it is good to see such a strong female representation from the likes of Marling and now The Staves. The sisters are thoroughly melodious, never over-indulge themselves and best of all - they have the whole year to bring out even more example of what they can pull off.

8/10

Joe Wilde